Research Summary Despite interest in alliance management in the global strategy field, we have only limited insights into how firms can manage diversity-related conflicts in international alliances. By referring to the conflict literature, our study introduces task discourse as a crucial mechanism allowing task conflict resolution. We further describe conflict resolution via socializing practices, including social events, joint workshops, and interorganizational teams. Socializing practices and ...more

Research Summary How information about social networks affects firms’ global expansion is an important but rarely investigated question. We argue that different sources of network information will affect a firm's investment activities in the global market, but their relative importance may vary. Moreover, the influence of network information can be bounded by the global trade network. The results from a sample of cross-border merger and acquisition (M&A) activities conducted by U.S. publicly lis...more

Research summary We examine the conditions under which boundary spanners positively contribute to intra-MNC knowledge sharing. Specifically, we argue that the knowledge sharing behavior of boundary spanners should not be taken for granted, as it is affected by the individual's motivation to share knowledge and contingent upon the immediate organizational context in which the individual is located. An analysis of data covering 482 individuals located in different business units of a Danish MNC co...more

Research Summary The paper tests real options theory prediction that uncertainty and flexibility are key value drivers for offshore outsourcing moderated by switching costs. Examining firm-specific and market data for outsourcing cases by U.S. firms, we find that the impact of market and environmental uncertainty and flexibility on outsourcing value is net positive and that it is greater for offshore than for domestic outsourcing. Outsourcing benefits are related to flexibility arising from grow...more

Purpose – The purpose of this the paper is to review the motives for internationalization to clarify previous arguments and provide a theory-driven classification. Design/methodology/approach – The authors build on behavioral economics and propose a classification of internationalization motives as the result of the interaction among two dimensions, an economics-driven exploitation of existing resources or exploration of new resources, and a psychology-driven search for better host country condi...more

This commentary's title is not meant to be a rhetorical question. In congratulating Brouthers (2002) for the JIBS Decade Award, we have an opportunity to assess where we are within this field of inquiry, and what is our trajectory. I believe that we have accomplished a lot in this area of study. Nevertheless, I am concerned about its current trajectory, so much so that I think we should seriously question whether we need more entry mode studies – especially if we are going to get more of the sam...more

#2Todd R. Zenger(WashU: Washington University in St. Louis)H-Index: 32

Although the literature on firm boundaries has been greatly influenced by transaction cost economics, strategy scholars often emphasize the importance of capabilities considerations in these decisions. This has led to a debate that, we suggest, has generated more heat than light. We argue that the two sets of considerations are in fact so intertwined dynamically that treating them as independent, competitive explanations is fundamentally misleading. We offer a theoretical synthesis of transactio...more

An enduring characteristic of extant literature on foreign operation modes is its discrete choice approach, where companies are assumed to choose one among a small number of distinctive alternatives. In this paper, detailed information about the operations of six Norwegian companies in three key markets (China, UK and USA) is used as the basis for an exploration of the extent to which, and how and why, companies combine clearly different foreign operation modes. We examine their use of foreign o...more

The growing interest in global value chains (GVCs) has been paired with a greater appreciation of the need for better measurement methods, as reflected by recent initiatives from academia and leading international organizations. This research note focuses on one method to measure GVCs that has been recommended in recent scholarly work, namely input–output models, but goes beyond the industry level of analysis by introducing intra-industry firm heterogeneity. Our illustrative application to multi...more